We have finally arrived at the finals of the Ducks gaming event hosted by NHLGamer. It's been an exciting group stage leading into the innovative three-tier playoff system, and all eyes are now on the tier 1 finals and who will take the biggest slice of the $5000 prize pool. We’ve gone from 72 teams down to only two remaining, who will be the one to come out on top?
A Look at the Other Finals
While we look forward to the tier 1 finals, the unique approach of the Ducks Gaming Tournament brought two more finals games to be played during the playoffs. The playoff format separated teams into three different tiers for a chance to compete for prizes across all tiers. This brought us two more playoff finals to talk about. The Tier 3 Playoffs, or the Niedermayer Division, while it may be considered the lowest playoff tier, the drama and excitement it brought during the finals was nothing short of memorable. It was game 2, and with 3rd seed Blueline Bakery leading the series 1-0 as well as leading the game 2-1 with just under a minute to play, disaster struck.
This may be something you never see again, or one of those 1 in 10,000 moments that you picture in your head happening, but it never actually manifesting. This however was very real for Blueline Bakery, and this unfortunately meant that game 2 was now tied and heading to overtime, where Unknown Talent would go on to win games 2 and 3 to take the series 2-1 and capture the Niedermayer Division title. Despite the oddities of the series, both of these teams had extremely strong playoff runs, as they both only dropped a single game combined between the two teams before the finals, which was a defensive battle with 11 goals in 3 games between the two teams.
The Tier 2 Playoffs, better known as the Kariya Division, was less about the heartbreak but rather the strong play heading into the finals. Denial heading into group play could’ve been considered a contender for the tier 1 playoffs but a tough group draw and a head to head tie breaker sent them to the Tier 2 Playoffs instead. This team finished group play 11-2-1, but 3rd in their group, so expectations were very high for Denial and were the clear favourites for the bracket play. They certainly exceeded those expectations, as they only had 2 losses in 14 games on route to their Tier 2 title. No Expectations’ cinderella 11th seed run may of been stopped short of the goal, but their run was something to be proud of regardless, beating some solid teams along the way, and as the 11th seed nonetheless.
Finals Preview
As we move on to the Tier 1 Selanne Playoffs, the teams that are set to clash have had very different roads to the finals.
The first is Olympia, who has been known for the majority of the past year as a de facto top 5 team in North America, and could have the argument as the best team in NA. We most recently saw them on NHLGamer in the Northern Arena Cup last summer, where the core of the team finished 2nd out of 32 of the top teams with the New York Underdogs. We’ve seen them have deep runs in other events throughout the course of the 2020-21 season, and are back in yet another final and look to take their first crown on the NHLGamer site. Throughout the past year Olympia has proven to be one the biggest forces within North American Esports. Since their finals appearance in the NA Cup, they have 1 major event win, a finals appearances, and a top 8 finish this year, and look to add to the “event win” category with another one here. This team can score in many different ways, but also a very prevalent and strong defensive team. They’ve dominated their opponents, outscoring them 37-17 throughout the tier 1 playoffs, and against some pretty strong opponents as well. They’ll be looking to come out firing on all cylinders in this series, as I believe most people would consider them the favorites heading into the finals.
Prodigy feels like the underdog in the series going up against a giant like Olympia, but these boys went through the gauntlet to get to this point. Despite finishing with an impressive 13-1-0 in group play, they ended up with a middling 8th seed for the playoffs, which certainly meant that their road to the finals was going to be more difficult than others. In the quarterfinals this prophecy came true in spades, as they had to go up against the number 2 seed in Hidden Potential, who just so happened to be undefeated in group play, scoring 87 goals in 14 games in the process. It was a long battle between these 2 teams, which took them all the way to 5 games, where @Canadiens 27 scored the series winning goal to send Prodigy to the semifinals. Their semifinal opponent? Well it just so happens that they drew the number 1 seed in Resilience, who also just so happened to have the best defense in group play with 11 goals against in 14 games. Prodigy went the distance again, taking the number 1 seed to the 5th and final game, where Canadiens struck again, first with the tying goal early in the 3rd period, and then the series winning goal 10 mins into overtime to send Prodigy to the finals. This team has gone through the 2 best teams in group play, who individually boasted the 2nd best offense and the #1 defense out of all the teams, and still came out on top. While this team may be considered a dark horse, this team has proven that they can compete and beat the best teams, and will look to shock the world again. This time however, for the whole event.
Keys to the Series
Sniper Shootout
While both of these teams have a large arsenal of weapons to score with, the biggest matchup of them all will come down to the biggest snipers on both teams, that being @Canadiens 27 for Prodigy and @gillyfor Olympia. These 2 players are 1st and 2nd out of all players in the Tier 1 playoffs with 23 and 21 goals respectively, with the next best player being only at 15. They also happen to be 1 and 2 in shots on goal (57 for Canadiens, 49 for Gilleh), and game winning goals (6 for Canadiens, 5 for Gilleh). These guys are by far the most dangerous scorers for their teams, and will look to continue their scoring ways in the finals to be the factor to get their team over the line.
Fire and Ice - Offense and Defense
To get this far in the playoffs, you have to be good at both ends of the rink, but both of these teams have seemingly contrasting styles in how they have had success this event. For Prodigy, they have been a high octane offensive team, with the forward core of Canadiens, @Polgzand @xDeath(Ethancy) being capable of scoring goals out of seemingly nothing, but also the blueline of @Geimerand @desyd19are skilled, dependable offensive defensemen who can get the job done when needed. On the other hand, Olympia are built around a rock solid defense with @Ruxand @Grim, with a fantastic goaltender in @Rainz to boot. While Prodigy’s front 3 forwards are 1-2-3 in playoff scoring, Olympia’s players are tied for the lead in +/- with a +21. Not to mention that Rainz boasts a 1.42 GAA and an 84.4 SV% with 3 shutouts, in which he leads all 3 of these categories for playoff goaltenders.
The X-Factor for these 2 teams is finding the ying to their yang, or rather the opposite of their team strengths. With Prodigy having such a high powered offense, can the defense and @o S m i i t t y come out and match the play of Olympia’s backend? Sure they can score goals, but if they can’t keep up with the strong defensive play the other side will bring, it will be a nail biting shootout for the title. On the flipside, Olympia will look to be just as explosive as Prodigy is going to be. It’s not as if they don’t have the weapons, as alongside Gilleh, @Gabseh and @McFleury are highly skilled forwards who can score in bunches if need be. We know that Prodigy can score, but Olympia is going to need to supplement their strong defensive play with some key goals and capitalizing on their chances to have the most success this series.
That’s going to wrap up the finals preview! Be sure to check out all of the coverage over at twitch.tv/anaheimducks starting at 6pm PT! Good luck to all of the competitors involved, it’s going to be an exciting series.
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